Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah was called out for making sexist and offensive comments against women on Saturday when he appeared to compare JD(S) workers to sex workers during a press briefing.
Siddaramaiah was answering a question about JD(S) blaming him for the collapse of the coalition government in the state when he said, "A prostitute who can't dance says the floor isn't right to dance." There are claps and cheers heard in the background after Siddaramaiah's comment.
The BJP was quick to react to the comment and MP Shobha Karandlaje took to Twitter to accuse Siddaramaiah and the Congress of disrespecting women.
He's former CM, he rightly exhibited culture of CONgress, this is how they respect women.
— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) August 31, 2019
See the kind of language he used when he was asked about his role in coalition govt's failure.
I strongly condemn former CM using foul language about women while addressing a press meet., pic.twitter.com/SvNHHPtnlW
"It is extremely unfortunate that a former Chief Minister is making such statements. Siddaramaiah has been known for using foul language against the Prime Minister and after fighting for women’s empowerment recently, it is very unbecoming that Siddaramaiah uses such language. Objectifying women for the purpose of making a political statement is shameful." BJP spokesperson Malavika Avinash told TNM.
When Siddaramaiah was asked to clarify the statement, he said that he was referring to the BJP and not the JD(S) and that it was a Kannada proverb. He omitted the word ‘prostitute’ and replaced it with the word dancer while clarifying his statement. "It is a proverb from our side. Those who can't dance blame the floor. What is the controversy in it? I was referring to the BJP with this", he told reporters.
Earlier in the year, Siddaramaiah was caught on camera snatching away a mic from a woman’s hand, hitting her hand with it and pushing her down, even as he pulls down a part of her dupatta. This after she tried to raise her complaint at an event held in Mysuru in January. The woman was a Congress worker named Jamalar who was trying to raise a local issue with Siddaramaiah when he misbehaved with her.